A dance track back to Spain from Cuba:
Bailando por guajiras en el pasado
20/10/2014
I encountered this video while cataloging one of my Flamenco compilation CDs. I wanted to check if a singer, Mayte Martín, was female (a cantaora) as I seemed to recall and the name sounded. She is female alright, though you could be forgiven for looking twice to be certain, given the way she is dressed.
I was charmed by the dancing of Maya Belén, but was prompted by one of the comments under the video to do a little digging.
I was charmed by the dancing of Maya Belén, but was prompted by one of the comments under the video to do a little digging.
The dance here is "Guajiras", a style usually performed with a fan by women, that accompanies a song style of the same name. Guajiras belong to the family of songs (cantes) called "los cantes de ida y vuelta", literally, songs of departing and returning, more colloquially, roundtrip songs. They are styles resulting from Spanish music taken to South America, influenced and altered there, and taken back to influence the Spanish again. Rumbas are another.
These styles are usually more mellow than pure Flamenco, which can be heartbreakingly intense. I was going to write of Maya Belén's performance as well done in a refined way we would call more "Arty", as opposed to the more "rootsy" and intense performances I have seen of other forms.
Then I noticed a comment under the video: - "I LOVE Belen Maya but Guajiras is not her thing. Her moves are too sharp and strong for this coquettish dance." I took this as a challenge to see if I could find video to support this opinion, which is a reasonable one.
These styles are usually more mellow than pure Flamenco, which can be heartbreakingly intense. I was going to write of Maya Belén's performance as well done in a refined way we would call more "Arty", as opposed to the more "rootsy" and intense performances I have seen of other forms.
Then I noticed a comment under the video: - "I LOVE Belen Maya but Guajiras is not her thing. Her moves are too sharp and strong for this coquettish dance." I took this as a challenge to see if I could find video to support this opinion, which is a reasonable one.
My mind went back to a Guajiras performance I had seen in a well-known film, "Flamenco", by director Carlos Saura. From 1995, this is a beautiful, elegant and restrained performance of the style, under the direction of dancer (bailaora) Merche Esmeralda.
However, we do not see the light touch of sexuality evident in Maya Belén's performance. It is all very virginal and Nineteenth Century, chaperoned girls in the long unrevealing dresses of the period, although perhaps you could call the play with the fan "coquettish"?
However, we do not see the light touch of sexuality evident in Maya Belén's performance. It is all very virginal and Nineteenth Century, chaperoned girls in the long unrevealing dresses of the period, although perhaps you could call the play with the fan "coquettish"?
Further investigation came up with an older film of a more mature woman's performance. This is a more spirited version, the dancer is coming on to the cantaor a little bit, she has a more mature sensuality. However, it does develop into a more "show biz" style, where they feel you will want to see some of the famous fancy Flamenco footwork, even if it is a bit too strong for this style.
Note her leg movements must sometimes include movements to keep that heavy hem going the way she wants it. This is an aspect of the dance skill still alive nowadays from the past when they wore a dress called the bata de cola which had almost what we would call a train, which required clever and hard work to make the dancing seem flowing and effortless.
Note her leg movements must sometimes include movements to keep that heavy hem going the way she wants it. This is an aspect of the dance skill still alive nowadays from the past when they wore a dress called the bata de cola which had almost what we would call a train, which required clever and hard work to make the dancing seem flowing and effortless.
Next and below, we see a woman with that skill, but I fear the dress has taken over the dance, and she is not expressing as much of the elegance and the coquette as the earlier examples of the form. Perhaps with experience she will be able to handle a fan as well? I will add, however, that she is clearly enjoying the dance.
I thought at this point I should include an example of a Guajira from Cuba, although it is qhite different. It appears Guajiras are not danced in South America. I couldn't find anything on YouTube.
As an end to this little journey I have found the below performance which seems to me to have captured the Guajiras spirit our initial commenter may have been looking for: Light, elegant, charming, a little sensual, some footwork but not too heavy, the fan is used to coquettish effect, and the dancer is enjoying herself.
(FYI, the bailaora [dancer] goes by the name of Blanca Nieves, which is actually the Spanish translation of "Snow White". Usually the Flamencos of Andalusia are proud of their "Gypsy" roots [They are generally known by the endonym Calé, or the exonym gitanos] and consider darker is better, more "pure Gypsy". Thus this appears to be a tongue-in-cheek name used by a non-gypsy performer, given that this is a German video.)
(FYI, the bailaora [dancer] goes by the name of Blanca Nieves, which is actually the Spanish translation of "Snow White". Usually the Flamencos of Andalusia are proud of their "Gypsy" roots [They are generally known by the endonym Calé, or the exonym gitanos] and consider darker is better, more "pure Gypsy". Thus this appears to be a tongue-in-cheek name used by a non-gypsy performer, given that this is a German video.)